Zombie Rehab by Craig Halloran

really given it much thought. He only cared about what was going on in his little world in the WHS and not so much what was going on elsewhere. So far as he was concerned, the flowers took care of themselves. It had never occurred to him that people actually did it.
    “Well, I guess it’s hard to find people to do those types of jobs,” Jack replied. “Besides, the zombies can probably work at night, and no one will ever know that they are there. Right?”
    Don huffed as he got up off the bench and started pacing around it.
    “I like seeing people in the gardens. I like seeing people anywhere, especially since the Zombies almost ate all of us just a few years ago. Why would the WHS think that people want to see zombies doing what normal people could do? What else are you going to train them to do, be lifeguards?”
    “Uncle Don, this is just an early phase. I mean, we really have a long way to go before we replace people.”
    Don’s face began to whiten as his jaw dropped.
    Whoops. “I mean, the zombies are only going to do so much. The WHS just wants to show the world that the zombies aren’t such a big threat anymore.”
    Don shook his head.
    “Oh, I see, they want to put on a good show. A humanitarian effort. Put the zombies on display in some type of zoo so the world can see what a positive impact they can have on society. Seriously Jack, is this what the WHS has you doing? I thought they were trying to cure them, not turn them into appliances.”
    Jack watched his uncle pace back and forth, his face creased in deep thought. He figured it was a generational thing. Jack had grown up with zombies all of his life. There had been video games, festivals, television shows, and movies aplenty even before the zombie outbreak occurred. When the zombies came, it wasn’t a surprise for some, so much as it was an expectation. Jack even knew some people who had let the zombies take them, and he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t wish to encounter one that was someone he once knew. Still, he was more than curious as to where the zombies came from. The more he played along with the WHS and the harder he worked trying get up the ladder, the sooner he was certain that he would get his answer one day.
    His uncle sat back down beside him, shaking his head.
    “Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just that the more I know about what the WHS does, the less I understand what the WHS does. This is science fiction. Apocalyptic. I know history, and nothing, I say nothing compares to this,” Don said, rapping his knuckle on the computer screen. “We are talking about the dead walking among the living, and we are trying to act like it’s normal. I’ve been acting like it’s normal. It’s not normal.”
    “Big paychecks make a lot of things seem normal,” Jack commented.
    He could feel his uncle bristle at his side. Perhaps he had crossed the line. What’s going on with him? His uncle’s current rambling was uncharacteristic, and he couldn’t ever remember seeing him pace before. Uncle Don was like a mighty dam that held back the flood waters in the most chaotic situations. Now the old man was carrying on like the world was going to end. It was making him a little bit nervous. Why would his uncle care if zombies pushed lawnmowers or not? So what.
    “Money doesn’t give you peace of mind, just temporary comfort. Jack, I’m in the position I’m in for one reason … to protect the only thing that is dear to me … my family. I’m …,” he grabbed Jack by the shoulder, “ We’re lucky ones, to still have our family. But there is no guarantee we’ll still have them with us tomorrow.”
    Jack patted his uncle’s hand and said, “Thanks. I appreciate all that you have done for me and Angie. But, really, what’s the big deal about using some zombies for cleaning up around here? I mean, we can’t just kill them.”
    His uncle began pulling at his chin hairs and started taking deep breaths through his nose as he watched a